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Brampton council delays historic LRT vote

Early Thursday morning, with the future of a $1.6 billion LRT in his hands, the only previously undecided member of Brampton council forced a divided city to wait six more weeks for a final decision on where the LRT should go.

“We need an LRT, but we need a made-in-Brampton solution,” said Coun. Michael Palleschi, making it clear that he would not vote for a motion on the floor to accept the province's LRT route along Brampton's Main St.

“Why are we rushing this decision tonight?” Palleschi asked his colleagues and a packed council chamber, before successfully calling for a six-week deferral so council could perhaps bring in a facilitator to help decide on an LRT route that will satisfy everyone.

After the deferral vote Mayor Linda Jeffrey, looking worn out from the marathon session, said she had asked each council member prior to the meeting if they needed more time. “Every single one of them said, 'I didn't need more time,’” she said.

Jeffrey has been aggressively lobbying council to support the province's route.

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When asked if the six weeks will be a waste of time, putting the city through another divisive protracted lobbying campaign only to arrive where things left off early Thursday, Jeffrey said, “I think it could be valuable time.”

The debate over the future of the LRT route, which the province has already committed to fund as long as its recommendation is met, was protracted and often heated, with about 50 delegates addressing council.

Do you want to be remembered as the council who “threw $1.6 billion away on a hunch they could do better?” delegate Jason Ottey asked.

Coun. John Sprovieri repeatedly chastised the union members that heckled delegates that did not support the province’s Main St. route.

Delegates opposed to the province's recommendation said there is not enough projected growth along the northern half of the proposed Brampton route to support an LRT. They raised concerns about undisclosed charges to Brampton taxpayers and local capital costs not covered by the province.

But the majority of delegates supported the Metrolinx route.

At least five of the 11 council members were opposed, arguing that the province’s proposal for the Hurontario-Main St. LRT that runs through Mississauga and into Brampton was a plan directed by Mississauga with Brampton absent from the table.

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City staff said the various alternative routes analyzed were too expensive and would add travel time. Coun. Jeff Bowman questioned the staff's analysis, pointing out that they couldn't find one positive in any of the 11 alternative routes they studied.

When asked after the meeting if Brampton's previous leadership had failed to take the city's LRT demands to the province, Jeffrey, a former Liberal cabinet minister at Queen's Park, said, “The one opportunity that the former mayor had in an hour-long meeting with the premier of Ontario, when asked if she wanted to talk about transit, said 'No'.”

Coun. Grant Gibson challenged Jeffrey and other council members who had suggested Brampton would lose the transit windfall being offered by the province if its route was not accepted.

“This is not a gift horse, this is a Trojan horse,” Gibson said. He argued that of the $1.6 billion for the project committed by the province, no more than $400 million is for Brampton's portion of the proposed LRT route. The rest is for Mississauga's portion, he said, adding that the province is trying to force a “Mississauga plan” on his city.

“Brampton never got a chance to say what we want.”

He said as early as 2009 Brampton made it clear to the province that an east-west LRT along Queen St., the city's growth corridor, was the priority.

“We had LRT on Queen St., we had rapid transit on Main (St.), not LRT.”

Gibson said Brampton needs to ask the province, just like Mississauga did, for the best possible LRT option to suit the city.

Coun. Gael Miles, who supports the province's route, asked Metrolinx CEO Bruce McCuaig if Brampton is getting short changed. “We are looking at people's origins and destinations,” he replied, adding that such data justified an LRT along the proposed Hurontario-Main route, including the Brampton portion.

Asked after the meeting if Metrolinx would pull its funding to Brampton if the Metrolinx route is not supported by council in six weeks, McCuaig said, “I'm not going to speculate at this point.”

During the debate councillors repeatedly said the lack of Brampton involvement in the process has resulted in a “divided council” with five members ready to vote yes to the province's route and five demanding a route recommended by Brampton. Palleschi had remained silent until voicing his opinion right before the deferral vote, which he eventually called.

Resident Chris Drew had earlier expressed the view of many Brampton residents. He said he supports the Main St. route. But he also said he supports widespread higher order transit across the rapidly growing city.

“We want them all,” he said of the various alternatives that were debated.

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